Barry Morris Goldwater Jr. (born July 15, 1938) is an American businessman and politician. He is a former Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from California, serving from 1969 to 1983. He is the son of U.S. Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the United States Republican Party, Republ ...

Early life

Goldwater was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

on July 15, 1938, the son of

Barry M. Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

and his wife Margaret Johnson. He graduated from

Staunton Military Academy Staunton Military Academy was a private all-male military school located in Staunton, Virginia. Founded in 1884, the academy closed in 1976. The school was highly regarded for its academic and military programs, and many notable American politica ...

in Staunton, Virginia, in 1957. Goldwater attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, and graduated from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

in 1962. He then worked as a stockbroker, public relations executive, and in import-export business, before being elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. In 1972, he married Susan Lee Gherman, daughter of Dr. E. Mortimer and Irene Gherman of Newport Beach, California. They had a son, Barry M. Goldwater, III. The couple divorced in May 1979.

Political career

In office

When Edwin Reinecke resigned from Congress in January 1969 to become lieutenant governor of California, this opened up California's 27th district which at the time covered parts of northern

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

. In the following special election, Goldwater was selected as the Republican nominee, and

John Van de Kamp John Kalar Van de Kamp (February 7, 1936 – March 14, 2017) was an American politician and lawyer who served as Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1975 until 1981, and then as the 28th Attorney General of California from 1983 until 1991 ...

was selected by the Democrats. Goldwater won 57% to 43%, serving for the remainder of the 91st Congress, and was reelected twice. He was redistricted to the 20th district ahead of the 1974 election, and was elected to another four terms in that district. During his time in Washington, Goldwater served on several committees, such as the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, the Joint Committee on Energy, and the Committee on Science and Technology. He drafted a number of bills while serving in the House, most notably the

Privacy Act of 1974 The Privacy Act of 1974 (, ), a United States federal law, establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained ...

, which prevents the distribution of private information from government and businesses. With his district merged with that of Bobbi Fiedler due to redistricting, Goldwater retired from the House to run for the Republican nomination to the Senate in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

. He lost that race to San Diego mayor and future

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

, who would go on to win the general election.

Advocacy

In the 1980 presidential election, Goldwater campaigned for Ronald Reagan, a family friend, who won the election against

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

. Ahead of the

2003 recall election The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort s ...

to replace

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

, he supported Arnold Schwarzenegger, and had a public debate with President Reagan's son

Ron Reagan Ronald Prescott Reagan (born May 20, 1958) is an American liberal political commentator, writer, radio personality, television host, and dancer. He is a former radio host and political analyst for KIRO and Air America Radio, where he hosted hi ...

. On November 16, 2007, Goldwater endorsed Republican presidential candidate

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

for the GOP nomination in 2008. On January 5, 2008, Goldwater announced his decision to go to New Hampshire to campaign for Ron Paul, after Paul's 10% showing in the Iowa caucuses, held on January 3, 2008. Paul would garner 8% of the vote in New Hampshire. He also spoke in support of Ron Paul at the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

GOP caucus. On September 4, 2008, a list of electors in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

using the label "Louisiana Taxpayers Party" paid $500 and filed papersWinger, Richard
Louisiana Asked to Print Ron Paul on Ballot as Presidential Candidate
Ballot Access News, 4 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-08. "On September 4, a slate of presidential electors was filed at the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, in person. The electors are pledged to Ron Paul for president, and former Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr., for vice-president. The partisan label for this slate is "Louisiana Taxpayers Party." The filing, and the ,00 was accepted* * *" with the Secretary of State's Office to get on the ballot. They were pledged to Ron Paul for president, and to Goldwater for vice president. The ticket received 9,368 votes in Louisiana, coming in third place in the popular vote. In 2015, Goldwater was chairman of TUSK – Tell Utilities Solar won't be Killed – "that aims at pushing solar from a different perspective: a Republican one". The group favored

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...

. In the same policy area, the

Goldwater Institute The Goldwater Institute is a conservative and libertarian public policy think tank located in Phoenix whose stated mission is "to defend and strengthen the freedom guaranteed to all Americans in the constitutions of the United States and all f ...

"sued to have rizonas renewable energy standards and tariffs throw out in a move that would have slowed solar development to a crawl", per ''

Phoenix Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

.O'Grady, Patrick
"Arizona solar battle heating up between installers, APS"
''Phoenix Business Journal'', March 29, 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

Business career

After retiring from politics, Goldwater moved to Los Angeles and pursued a career in the financial sector, specializing in security law and underwriting. His clients were major U.S. banks and insurance companies. Goldwater became a member of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

, and a partner in what is now

Wedbush Securities Wedbush Securities Inc. is a privately held investment firm based in Los Angeles. As of February 2022, the firm had $4.1 billion under management with 7,460 clients. History The firm was founded in 1955 by two high school friends, E ...

(formerly Noble Cook, Inc.) Goldwater lives in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

, near his son Barry M. Goldwater III. He has served on the board of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program. As of October 2018, he serves on the board of directors of the

. The Goldwater Institute is a non-profit political think tank which studies and publishes findings on public policies that align with the conservative values promoted by Goldwater's father. Goldwater generally supported legislation and policies that embrace economic independence, individual rights, and

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal The ...

. Goldwater maintains his contact with Republican and

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

leaders, as well as celebrity activists, and is still active in the conservative political movement. He is a member of the American Numismatic Association, and is currently director of the

National Collector's Mint National Collector's Mint, Inc. is a Westchester County New York based company that sells privately produced coins, tokens, commemoratives, and collectibles, as well as anti-aging skin products through the BioLogic brand. The company does not ...

Awards and honors

Goldwater has won several awards, including the Achievement Award from the

National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, ed ...

, an award from the President's Commission on Employment of the Handicapped, the Distinguished Service Award of the A.C.A., and the Conscience of the Congress Award of the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded o ...

References

External links

Barry Goldwater Jr. official website

Congressional biography
*

Goldwater Institute

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwater, Barry Jr. 1938 births Living people American people of English-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent American stockbrokers Arizona Republicans Arizona State University alumni Barry Goldwater Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Politicians from Los Angeles Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Staunton Military Academy alumni University of Colorado Boulder alumni